In a variety of environments, including for example industrial environments, there is a need for control systems that are capable of governing the operation of one or more pieces of equipment or machinery in a manner that is highly reliable. Distributed systems are becoming increasingly crucial as more and more infrastructures are distributed for redundancy and/or convenience. In such a system, the verification of the proper operation of distributed modules or devices is necessary to meet the objectives of the system. As a result maintenance personnel are required to visit remotely located portions of the system to verify each node or component meets operational parameters. Nevertheless, this is cumbersome, time consuming and expensive.
In addition to complex systems, the verification of the safety or status of someone is often desired. For example, the safe return of people to their home following certain events or interactions with other people, such as dating, meeting friends, attending a meeting, traveling, etc. is often of concern. In such circumstances, a person will usually inform a friend, roommate, parent, or other interested person of their plans so that if something negative occurs or deviation from expectations is detected by the informed person, a checkup call or a call to the authorities may be made. However, this practice is informal and relies upon both parties to perform their responsibilities, i.e., to inform someone and for that person to be vigilant in their monitoring.
One of the primary concerns for single parents of young children surrounds the fear of what would happen to a child if something happened to the single parent overnight. If something were to happen to the single parent overnight, a child may wind up spending an extended period of time uncared for before someone comes to check on the single parent. Currently, there is not an interactive check in system that allows a monitored entity to “check-in” according to a predetermined schedule.
Accordingly, there is a need for a system, method, and device for monitoring a status of an entity based upon an established monitoring profile.